Number 253 - June 2004

Knoppix -- A Tool for Everyone(?)1
by Charlie Paschal, PPCC
One of the greatest tools a computer technician has over a home user is the access of another computer. A second computer can be used to access the Internet and find answers to problems. When a home user's computer is crippled, it's very difficult to find answers -- except by telephone.    Although it's not another computer, a very useful tool is a Knoppix CD. Knoppix is a version of Linux that runs from a CD. If you've got a broadband connection to the Internet, such as a cable modem, it automatically senses the connection and gives you access to the Internet. It usually finds all your hardware, giving you total access to your files and information. You usually can copy files to CDs, floppies or Zip disks.	Get Knoppix at www.knoppix.org. It's a large download, about 700 megabytes, but it comes in a form that you can use to automatically make a bootable CD. If you don't have this CD, download it (or ask a friend with a broadband connection to do it for you) as a tool for a day when Windows won't start. 1 Editor's Note:    We added the question mark to the title because our experience with this program was not great. First you must set up your computer to read the bootable Knoppix CD before the hard disk. It did indeed find everthing and would allow access to the Internet. But it was very slow and not at all intuitive. However, if your system is dead-in-the-water this may allow access to your files and possibly repair. But it'll take work!
Number 253 - June 2004